Report in The Nation, Nov 26, 2023
SIALKOT – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif said Saturday that political stability is a must to move the country forward. “We have to rebuild the country afresh. After realising what has happened to this country, a person like me thinks 10 times how the country could be put on the right path again,” the former prime minister stated this while addressing a ceremony at the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI).
Nawaz Sharif also said that he was replaced by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan who destroyed the society by promoting hate culture. “I was replaced by a man who knows nothing expect abusing others. A man who destroyed the society was brought into power,” he added. “My daughter was put behind the bars while attempts were made to hand death penalty to me.”
Nawaz Sharif further said that his party along with others will make an all-out effort to get the country out of crises. While addressing PML-N workers convention at the residence of former defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif at Sialkot Cantonment. He said, “Inshallah, we will be able to get the country out of the darkness very soon and lead the country on the path to development. If the people support the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and vote to power in the 2024 elections, I assure that we will put the country back on the path to development and prosperity and remove the darkness forever.”
He said, “I am loyal to my nation. We have been punished for no reason. I am not disappointed and I will not let you be disappointed. ’I have seen many difficult times. I was in power and also faced conflicts of interest. I probably faced more sentences and cases than the number of years of my rule. The political vendetta the PML-N had faced in 2017 has now ended. But I don’t know what the reason was.’’
He said, ‘’My government was toppled without any reason. We ourselves had dragged our country to the quagmire’’. The country and the nation have suffered a lot during the previous government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), but it has to be repaired by you and us together because we have always worked for the interest of the country and never done anything against the country’s interest.”
The PML-N supremo said that those who brought the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief to power were equally ‘’responsible’’ for the country’s woes.
He said, “It is our responsibility and duty to free the people from inflation and poverty. If the development and policy of our era had continued, the country’s economy would not have been in this condition today. We have to take decisions for the economy with courage and bravery. Inshallah, together we will work to get the country and nation out of problems.”
He said that in 1993, when the rupee was stable, poverty was decreasing, people were prosperous, a network of motorways was being laid all over the country, but then suddenly the PML-N government was terminated without any reason. “Then the same thing happened in 2017. The country was prosperous, the rupee was also stable; there was no inflation; bread was also cheap, the CPEC was progressing rapidly; we had also eliminated terrorism and loadshedding. The poor people of the country did not have any problem, but then the country was destroyed and the judges of that time sentenced me only for the crime of not taking salary from my son and then exiled me,” he maintained.
The former premier said: ‘’This country was and is quite beautiful, and we could have made it paradise’’.
He recalled why the elections were rigged and took an indirect dig at the PTI chief, saying, ‘’Such a person was imposed, who used foul language. Those who brought him to power were equally responsible.’’
Nawaz Sharif further said that he was replaced by someone (PTI Chairman Imran Khan) who only knows how to verbally abuse others, questioning why was there electoral manipulation in 2018 and why the Results Transmission System (RTS) was made un-operational.
The former premier said, “This person (Imran) destroyed our culture and society and we cannot hand over our country to such people. Even though injustice was done to us, we never acted against the interest of the country. He emphasised learning a lesson from the past, or else Pakistan would lag behind other nations. He said, ‘’The airport in Sialkot will be up to the mark. There is potential in Sialkot to surpass records in terms of exports. The former premier said that our country is a very good country and our people are also very good and hardworking who have so much power that they can make their country stand among developed countries.
Nawaz Sharif said, ‘’I am very hopeful that I will meet you again in Sialkot during the election campaign. ’.
Former Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that in his 34-year-old political career, his leader Muhammad Nawaz Sharif guided him at every point. “I had said on the floor of the assembly that my leader will come. Those who wanted to eliminate my leader Muhammad Nawaz Sharif from politics were themselves eliminated.”
He said that Nawaz Sharif will become the Prime Minister of the country for the fourth time on February 8, 2024. “Whenever Nawaz Sharif came to power, he started public welfare projects for the residents of Sialkot. The Sialkot-Lahore Motorway is also a gift of Nawaz Sharif, which will be built up to Rawalpindi and the country will develop further.” Former finance minister Ishaq Dar, Maryam Nawaz, former Minister for Planning and Special Initiative Ahsan Iqbal, former Federal Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb, Pervaiz Rashid, Senator Sajid Mir, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Members of the National and Provincial Assemblies of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) from Sialkot and a large number of people were also present on this occasion.
https://www.nation.com.pk/E-Paper/lahore/2023-11-26/page-1/detail-5
